A Cinderella Masquerade
by serindraxx
Summary: this story is based on Yo Excuse me, miss and Cinderella. please R&R! LJ


A/N: okay this is just another one-shot that I came up with while listening to "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" and thinking of Cinderella. Hope you like it! and would you please read Stars In Her Eyes if you haven't already?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you see; Cinderella belongs in a fairy tale, and the song belongs to Chris Brown, who sings it.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

A Cinderella Masquerade

_**Yo,  
Tell me fellas have you seen her? (Seen her)  
It was about five minutes ago  
**_

Lily looked at the message that came through Owl Post, shaking her head. _This cannot be happening,_ she thought, staring at the spindly handwriting, which was oddly familiar.

'Who wrote this?' she wondered, curiously.

**_When I seen the hottest chick  
that a young'n  
Never seen before_**

James was looking at a similar piece of parchment, with a slight frown of confusion. _Who sent this?_ He wondered, thinking that the handwriting was sort of familiar.

He looked sidelong at Lily, who was staring off into space, and then looked at Remus. Remus was ignoring him, but Sirius certainly wasn't. He was looking at James's parchment. "Homework, now?! You have got to be joking," he said incredulously, and snatched the parchment, nearly tearing it.

"Okay, this is weird. Who would send you an invitation through Owl Post?" Sirius sounded so confused that Remus looked up in shock.

"Sirius," he hissed, looking at Lily out of the corner of his eye.

"What?"

"Oh, never mind."

**_I said Yo,  
Tell her girls I want to meet her (meet her)  
On second thought that ain't the way to go _**

Later on, in the seventh year boys' dormitories, Sirius, Remus, Alice and Michelle were discussing Sirius's idea.

"Sirius, it would probably never work! So why did you send the stupid things anyways?" Michelle asked shrilly.

Sirius looked affronted. "Wouldn't work? And what do you mean by that? James has been smitten with her for years, so why shouldn't it work?"

Michelle looked the worse for wear, her eyes were so huge. "What do _I_ mean by that? Jeez, Sirius, you always spin ideas out of air and expect them to work, but the truth is, they usually don't. There, I said it."

Alice shook her head, and rolled her eyes. Michelle had been smitten with Sirius for a while now, and never seemed to get the courage to show it, with all the competition over the two sexiest guys at school. Alice was already head over heels in love with Frank Longbottom, and didn't notice anyone else.

Remus looked between Sirius and Michelle with a slight grin on his face, but he decided against mentioning the chemistry he sensed between them. It only would have created more tension, and they had enough as it was.

Alice heard someone coming up the stairs and hissed that they would continue this later, and zoomed across the room as fast as she could. She pulled the door open, just as James came into view, still thinking of the invitation to the Halloween Dance. He and Lily had decided a couple of days ago that they really should have one.

At least they were on a first name basis now. That was certainly an improvement, in his opinion, especially after the fiasco on the train.

_Okay, James, don't think about that. It's not important. Think of something else, there's a good fellow. _

_**I got give her game proper  
Spit it so she'll get it  
There she is I got to stop her**_

"Alice, do you know anything about this invitation I got this morning?"

Alice looked at the piece of parchment held in Lily's hand and shook her head. "No, Lils, not a clue." But she was grinning slightly.

"What are you grinning about?" Lily asked, exasperated.

"Nothing, nothing," Alice said, trying not to start grinning like a madwoman.

_**Or should I talk about her smile? (It's been said before)  
Or what about her style? (Too obvious)**_

_**I'm out of time  
She's out the door  
I got to go for mine**_

As Lily watched Alice and Frank across the room, she felt something akin to nostalgia. She wished that she could fall in love with somebody like Frank. _What am I thinking? I'm already in _love_ with someone._

She jerked out of her thoughts as someone sat next to her. She turned her head, and recognized the slightly cocky grin. Lily had been amazed at the change in James over the summer holidays.

"Hey, Lily, um, I was wondering about how we're planning on going to the ball that we planned out. Like, what you're going to wear and whether we should have a costume contest, like having everybody vote on their favorite costumes and such," James stated awkwardly.

"Well, I think that's a wonderful idea, thanks for mentioning it," Lily answered, before anything else came out of James' mouth. She really did feel sorry for him. Well, probably sorrier this year than any other year.

_Flash-back_

"James, what's the matter?" Lily asked as she sat next to him by the fire.

James didn't say anything, just stared ahead. He showed her a piece of parchment, letting her read it.

Dear Mister Potter,

We are sorry to have to tell you, but He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named visited your place of residence last evening at eleven o'clock. We are terribly sorry for your loss and wish you the best,

The Ministry Of Magic

"Oh, James, I'm sooo sorry," Lily cried, her heart wrenching terribly. She'd only met the Potters once but had loved them like her own parents, whom Lord Voldemort had also killed.

"Don't be, I don't need anyone's pity," James said stiffly and stood up, leaving Lily alone with her thoughts.

_End Flash-back_

**_I think I'll say  
Yo  
I don't know your name but excuse me miss_**

Why did that memory pop up? She hadn't realized that she was pondering it, until Professor McGonagall had questioned her about the lesson.

"Sorry, Professor, what was the question?" she asked, making half of the class laugh. James turned in his seat to look at her, but she held her footing. As she glanced at James, she blushed. But James didn't laugh.

"Miss Evans, I am not pleased, I would have thought better of you, five points from Gryffindor," Professor McGonagall stated disappointedly and walked back to her desk.

"What was that all about?" Michelle leaned over to ask. Lily shrugged, not wanting to go into it.

**_I saw you from across the room  
And I got to admit that you got my attention  
You're making me want to say Yo_**

"I wonder what's gotten into Lily this year," Michelle said as she and Alice watched Lily go to the Library.

"I don't know, but I've got a sneaking suspicion that it's got something to do with James," Alice said absently, watching James and his friends.

"We were just wondering what got into dear Lily during class," said a friendly voice behind them. Alice and Michelle turned around to see a smiling Sirius looking at them.

"Now, Sirius, you really need to watch what you say," Remus said casually, letting his gaze linger on James' downcast face.

"What, I can't even mention the—"

"Sirius," Alice hissed. Sirius quieted a bit, glancing at Alice.

**_I know you're trying to leave but excuse me miss  
I saved the last dance for you  
How I love to keep you here with me oh baby_**

Lily was on her way to the Library to cover up her tears, worried about what James thought of her now.

"Lily?" said an incredulous voice, and Lily's heart melted. She looked up, noticing hazel eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses looking at her.

"Lily, what's the matter?"

Lily didn't answer, just looked down. She felt James move forward, refusing to look up. The choice, however, was not hers.

James put a finger under her chin and raised her head. She closed her eyes to avoid looking at him. A moment later, she felt his breath settle on her mouth. This time, she opened her eyes, her heart swelling to an un-natural size.

His eyes were at her level, delving into her depths. She felt as though James could sense her inner feelings, her hidden secret. But if he did, she couldn't be sure.

She might have moved forward, or he did, but either way, their mouths connected. Lily felt as though she were drowning in an ocean, James felt as though he were floating in space. How could these two, one basically in love, the other in denial, act as though there was nothing going on between them? Well, the one kiss they shared showed Lily how wrong she was, and showed James how right he was.

**_Now shorty grab hold of my hand  
And let's pretend the floor is ours  
You say you don't really dance_**

As the night of the ball approached, Lily could be seen running around Hogsmeade with Alice and Michelle.

"Should I get the green dress or the black dress?" Lily asked over and over.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Lily, we've gone through this already, you should get the green dress, besides I thought you were going as Cinderella?"

"Yeah, I was planning on going as Cinderella, but I wasn't sure whether to get the green dress or find a white gown," Lily said, with a sniff.

_**Don't worry about it  
We'll just 1,2 step  
1,2 step**_

James looked around, trying to find the girl who had sent him the invitation.

On the other side of the room, Lily was doing the same thing. "The invitation said that he was going to meet me on the dance floor," she whispered to herself, standing on tip-toe. She was trying to find the cutest guy on the floor, which was rather hard, considering every male in the place was dressed in a tux and had a mask over their face.

"Lily, you are making me nervous, can you please sit down?" Michelle whined as Sirius walked by the table.

"James is waiting, Michelle, can you come here?" he asked anxiously, his eyes worried. Michelle nodded and stood up.

Michelle asked as they walked, "What seems to be the matter, Sirius? Back at the table, you looked rather worried."

"Well, have you noticed anything odd about James and Lily?" Sirius asked.

Michelle nodded. She'd noticed that Lily tended to stand up and look around; James had turned his head in an unconscious gesture of search.

"We need to get the two of them out on the floor, but how?"

Michelle thought for a second, and then it felt as though she had a light flash above her head. "Lily loved a certain song that she listens to whenever she gets the station to come in on her enchanted radio, we could play that," she said. Sirius looked at her in surprise, then he caught on to her idea.

"Yeah, that just might work," he said slowly, thinking it over.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

"Will Miss Lily Evans and Mister James Potter please come out on the dance floor?" said a voice that sounded almost like Sirius's voice over a micro-phone.

Lily stood up, watching James do the same thing.

As she walked toward the floor, one of her favorite songs started playing.

_**I love you, and I need you, **_

_**I love you, I do,**_

**_And it's more then you'll ever know, _**

**_Boy it's for show._**

_**No matter what I do, **_

**_All I think about is you,_**

**_Even when I'm in my room, _**

**_You know I'm crazy over you,_**

**_She said, _**

_**"You don't know what you mean to me."**_

How did they know she loved that song? The only girls who knew were her best friends. Could Michelle have told them, or Alice? She looked over at Alice. No, Alice was too busy. Well, who did?

**_No matter what I do, _**

_**All I think about is you,**_

As the two of them danced, Lily started feeling happier than she had, even with the glares she felt on her back.

She looked into the eyes of the mask and saw a pair of brilliant hazel eyes twinkling at her. They weren't hidden, and Lily felt as though she were drowning in a wave, but was still walking on normal floor.

**_Even when I'm in my room, _**

_**You know I'm crazy over you,**_

James looked at the girl in his arms, feeling happier than usual. He recognized the song, having heard it in his room over a thousand times.

Her eyes were sparkling like emeralds in the dim light, but he couldn't read within the depths. He normally could read her thoughts with ease, seeing the fact that she normally let him see her rage.

**_No matter what I do, _**

**_All I think about is you,_**

Lily felt herself being pulled forward. She let her hands slide up his neck, her fingers slide into his hair.

James' hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest. Lily's eyes looked up at him, not with anger, but with something else, and James couldn't decipher it.

_**Even when I'm in my room, **_

_**You know I'm crazy over you. **_

_**I love you, and I need you, **_

_**I love you, I do,**_

_**And it's more then you'll ever know**_

The song came to an end and with it, the world-moving dance. Lily let go, her heart wringing painfully. Then, as the applause grew louder, James watched as Lily fled in a storm of tears. _What was that all about?_

James wasn't the only one watching as Lily fled. Sirius and Michelle watched in disbelief as Lily vanished from sight. And as the two of them reflected on that, they didn't notice James head out of the room as well.

**_Now if the music is moving too fast  
Grab my hand a little tighter (tighter)  
Don't be afraid to move a little closer_**

But, unbeknownst to James, Lily was outside hiding behind a hedge. She was sobbing her heart out, feeling as though she were made of glass.

She heard her name called. She looked up, feeling like a maiden being fed to a dragon. But she had still been sobbing, a heart-wrenching sound that caused James to look toward the hedge, letting his feet move him.

"Lily, Lils, what's the matter?" James asked with concern. Lily looked up, her eyes red and swollen.

"You. No, wait, scratch that, Sirius is the problem. How did he know about that song?"

"Well, we did hear a lot of it during Second Year. But what I was wondering is why you ran off," James said gently, kneeling by the hedge.

Lily looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Because, I – I love you, James," she whispered.

**_Yo  
I don't know your name but excuse me miss  
I saw you from across the room_**

And I got to admit that you got my attention  
You're making me want to say yo

**_  
Yo  
I don't know your name but excuse me miss  
I saw you from across the room_**

And I got to admit that you got my attention  
You're making me want to say yo

"Oh, Lily," James murmured, softly, holding her as she cried on his shoulder.

At that moment, Michelle, Sirius, Alice and Remus came out the doors. The four of them stopped in their tracks as they each took in the scene before them.

Lily jerked out of James' grasp, wiping her eyes.

"What's gotten into dear Lily?" Sirius quipped, trying to dispel the tense feelings in the air. Lily broke down and started giggling hysterically. James looked at her, and ended up holding her to keep her up.

She laid her head on his chest and gave way to sobs; sobs of happiness this time, not sadness. Because James had just whispered, "I love you, too."

A/N: phew, okay it's finally finished. I've been working on this for months. So you better be happy. I can't think of what to say here except to Review this! It would really be nice, seeing as you guys seem to like long stories; even if they are just oneshots. but if this isn't long enough, I don't know what is, ten pages on Microsoft word.

Please review!

Serindraxx


End file.
